Why I Oughta...

I had to look closely to be sure this sea dragon in one of the lakes/ponds at Disney Springs was, indeed, made out of Lego bricks, but after a closer inspection, I can confirm that it is, indeed, legit Legos.  I have no idea if they build these big installations from ONLY bricks (meaning all the way to the middle) or if there is some form they use and apply bricks to the exteriors?  Do you Lego folks know?   Seems some folks use Duplos?  Or, as you'd guess, other structures . I love how this Lego sea serpent/Loch Ness Monster is reminiscent of the topiary version from the Magic Kingdom  and we always stop at the Lego store at Disney Springs.  Despite having that HUGE World of Disney store just a little bit further down the way, the LEGO store is always my kids favorite stop and where they typically put their (very limited) spending power.

I think I was born to be a minivan guy.  I love driving it.  I love that they call it the Swagger Wagon .  I sometimes wish it was a bigger, real van .  Not a 'mini'.  Nat, on the other hand, is counting down the days until she can downsize into something smaller, more SUV-ish that is easier to handle (and park).  Once we get into all boosters and don't have the need for the massive double stroller, I think we can move off the mini-van everyday routine.  But, I think I'll keep it!  And use it as my primary car.  That's why I put on some sweet new tires - 80K tires. I roll hard. I don't drive my car very much - to the grocery store or to Menards, so it gets light use.  But, when we go somewhere as a family, we take the minivan.  And...it feels to me like the van is like a space shuttle.  Has so many controls and is so comfortable.  I love driving it and having the space.  It gets just ok gas mileage, but makes up for it in the way it handles and drives.

I took the advice of Jason Kottke and took the plunge to obtain a few sets of solar eclipse glasses on Amazon while they were in stock.  With the kids, we opted for plastic glasses.  Are you guys not geeked about what we have in store?  I have a vivid memory of using a pinhole box when I was a kid in elementary school, so I'm excited to see what my kids think about the whole experience. I have to think that the media is going to whip this into a frenzy, so get your glasses before they're gone.  Make sure you check 'delivery estimates' on Amazon or else you'll end up with a pair that might or might not arrive in time.  Or..who knows?  Maybe these kind of glasses are going to turn into August's version of fidget spinners and they'll be at the checkout counter of every Walgreens and CVS location around the area? I took Jason's advice and ordered early.  He's been very thoughtful (and is excited) about the event, so go read the whole post over t

I came across a garage sale up in Twin Lakes earlier this summer that I was drawn in via a vintage bicycle (that turned out to be a reproduction and was too expensive for me!) and ended up buying this silly coffee mug for $0.25.  It has this husband/wife and a pig on it and just spoke to me for some reason.  It has a comic strip kind of quality to it, but I can't quite place it. Not Frank and Ernest .  Not quite Beetle Bailey .  Kind of like a hillbilly Blondie ? The same mug is on eBay for $19.99 , which seems nuts, right? Oh, did I tell you?  This got a MAJOR eye roll from Nat.   I made the mistake of leaving it in the front seat after I picked it up and she came across it before I could put it away. It has some crazing going on and I have to think it will survive the dishwasher if it still looks like this after 40 or 50 years, so I stuck it in the cupboard in Twin Lakes and I'll use it when I can. One of the big reasons why I bought it?  This "Made in Japa

As seen on a construction wall at the International Gateway , where they are putting in the new Skyway station .  Pretty clever sponsorship from the folks at Stanley Tools.  From t he Stanley sponsorship page  - that may need to be updated based on Lights, Motors, Action going away : Official Tool Provider of the Walt Disney World Resort, with over 200 branded signs in 40 Disney properties. This 10-year alliance includes branding, business-to-business and special program elements. STANLEY is one of a select group of alliance partners. The partnership includes construction wall signage throughout Walt Disney World Resort. STANLEY, DEWALT and MAC logos are featured at the Walt Disney World Speedway, and STANLEY, MAC, Proto and Vidmar products outfit the Lights, Motors, Action garage and the test track queue line and ride.

That's our Husqvarna Automower back in business, but in our #NewOldBackyard.  I've written a few times about our Automower here on the blog .  And, on my linkblog/other note-taking/link-saving thing, I even chronicled how we arrived at his/her name :  Go-Go. We had Go-Go installed at Equation Boy/Man's place, so when we were moving out, I went around the perimiter of the lawn and picked up the boundary wire and stakes.  When we got to the #newoldfarmhouse, it took me a few weeks to find the time to spend in the yard putting the boundary (and guide) wires in around the edges of the yard.  Our #newoldbackyard is quite a bit bigger, so the wire installation kit that I ended up buying was the 'medium' version and as it turned out, we had *just* enough wire.  Like maybe 10 extra feet total.  And that's after deciding to not have Go-Go cut certain parts of the current lawn.    All the way in the back there's a densely shaded area that doesn't really have

Part of our initial plant/landscape installation included a few sets of hydrangeas out front of the porch.  I think both Nat and I really like hydrangeas - they're pretty easy to tend to and they have a bit of 'showiness' to them.  Our #newoldfarmhouse is white, so one of the ideas that Nat's Mom had was to try to bring in a hydrangea that had a bit of color to it.   Chris Paul of Green Grass Landscaping (and my fraternity brother!) came back with these Vanilla Strawberry ones. They bloomed this first year and have good-sized white flowers.  But, just this week, you can see that some of them are turning pink.  Exciting stuff.  From the sounds of this story from HydrangeaGuide , it sounds like the show lasts all summer: It will start to produce them show stopping flowers around the start of Summer and flowers appear from white pinkish buds and open into white flowers.   The large white coned shaped flowers then start to turn pink before slowly turning a strawberr